Notes

1. Geeks and birthday parties

Twelve hours' time difference didn't stop my friends from a proper
birthday party for me. What can you expect when your friends are
geeks? They pulled out all the stops: cellphones for quick setup and
communication, Yahoo Messenger for
text and video, and moblogs for pictures of the celebration. Too bad a
firewall stopped us from chatting via Skype!

It was slightly weird because there were six people chatting around
one computer in a coffee shop in Manila, one person connecting from
U.P. Baguio (Mario), and of course me, connecting from my dorm. Six
people! One keyboard! Still, through the valiant efforts of Dominique
and Charo, Mario and I "heard" enough of the conversation to laugh
ourselves to bits. Mario was the only one who could see my webcam, but
he took a screenshot just so that the others could see me with my cute
hat! =)

To commemorate my birth, my friends dug into a tub of dulce de leche
ice cream. Knowing what kind of ice cream they had (and how quickly it
was disappearing) reminded me of the ice cream parties we had when I
was there. =) I remember our quest for dulce de leche, too!
Oooooh... yummy... Not to be left out, I told them I'm going to cook
lasagna later. Marcelle and Dominique remember what my lasagna tastes
like. =)

They even called up long-distance and passed around the phone for
quick birthday greetings!

_That's_ how you throw a geek birthday party.

Thanks, everyone. You really made my day special. That warm and fuzzy
feeling you gave me this morning is what's getting me through the rest
of this quiet day...

2. Quiet lab

Friday afternoon at the lab. It's so quiet I can hear the water
rumbling in the walls. I have a birthday cake in the refrigerator and
no one to share it with. That, my dear friends, is culture shock.

Many people think of culture shock as just encountering cultures and
customs different from their own, but culture shock is about far more
than costumes or traditions. My form of culture shock is having to
deal with the shift from a close-knit group of friends to an
environment where I don't really know a lot of people yet.

Fortunately, the universe sensed I was about to get depressed, and it
intervened. Melanie walked in and asked if I was still around. I
brought the cake out of the refrigerator and _that_ brought Alvin out
of his cubicle. Alvin and Melanie even sang Happy Birthday. =) We had
more of that wonderfully chocolatey cake.

Now we're down to two decently-sized slices, which I can share with my
roommate later. =)

3. Flowers! =)

I received a beautiful bunch of red, orange, purple and white flowers
in the mail, from Mom, Dad, Ching and John, Kathy, Neko, Ollie, Lucas,
Patch, Picco, Mali, and the Adphoto staff! =) The bouquet came with a
vase (handy!) and a birthday balloon.
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww... I feel really warm and
fuzzy!

Yes, yes, flowers are flowers and they'll wilt after a while, but
they're very pretty, and it was such a great surprise to receive them.
Besides, flowers tell other people that Something Special is Up, and
This Girl is Special. =)

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Page: 2005.08.12

Updated: 2005-12-1615:36:2015:36:20-0500

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